Kids cruising out there?

davejq · #1 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009

Myself, my wife and our 10 year old daughter are planning to leave our base in Portland, OR, this summer for an extended cruise – initial plans are down the CA coast July-Oct, south into Mexico, maybe into the Sea of Cortez, beyond into Central America, and then across to the South Pacific in early 2010. Our daughter is very much looking forward to the adventure (maybe less so the home schooling!) but is naturally a bit concerned about leaving all her friends. If there are any other families out there planning or doing a similar trip we would love to get in touch with you and get our kids talking / emailing etc in the near future so that the impact of leaving our land-based home can be eased by the continuity of friendship with someone else going through a similar shift and the prospect of meeting up on our travels. Please drop us an message if you’re out there!
Thanks, Dave & Yvonne

Cruisingdad · #2 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009

Good luck with that!!! Are plans are to go the opposite direction. Share your pics and stories with us!!! THere are many here with kids and some cruising.

Here's my kiddos -

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Take care,

Brian

klubko · #3 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009

We met these nice folks in Malaysia on their circumnavigation. Two kids on board

s/v Blue Sky

danielgoldberg · #4 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009

Those are some handsome boys Brian! Congratulations!

But where are their spatulas?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruisingdad

Good luck with that!!! Are plans are to go the opposite direction. Share your pics and stories with us!!! THere are many here with kids and some cruising.

Here's my kiddos -

[IMG]

[/IMG]

Take care,

Brian

IslanderGuy · #5 (**permalink**) 02-06-2009

Hi Dave,

We live in Oregon as well, just a little south of Portland in a speck called Lafayette. I have two girls, almost 8 and 9 at the moment, and are planning a similar voyage for about 2 years. We will not be leaving until next summer at the earliest unless I just totally loose it before then and can figure out a way to make it happen sooner!

We would love to meet up with you guys sometime and talk about ideas, experiences and whatever. It would be very cool for our girls to actually know someone out there, doing what we hope to do. We read a few blogs of cruising families, but none that we actually know. One of our favorites is Toast Floats She is good about giving a realistic view of life afloat with kids, the good and the bad!

Bryan

davejq · #6 (**permalink**) 02-09-2009

Bryan - thanks for the message. Drop me a line to davejq @ hotmail dot com, we can continue off-line.

Dave

wassupkris · #7 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009

My husband and I are also planning on going down the east coast for a year with two children ages 5 and 4. Any helpful tips for cruising with kids would be appreciated. thanks

Faster · #8 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by wassupkris

My husband and I are also planning on going down the east coast for a year with two children ages 5 and 4. Any helpful tips for cruising with kids would be appreciated. thanks

Search this forum and you'll find lots of discussion on this issue...

kwaltersmi · #9 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009

One of the great resources for me in planning a future long distance cruise with our young kids has been reading the blogs of others. The Hacking family (s/v Ocelot Cruising the World) has been most helpful, both through their blog and email communication. They also have a page on their website (Cruising with Teens) dedicated to cruising with teens/kids.

capntortuga · #10 (**permalink**) 04-15-2009

Dave,

My daughter is also 10 and we've been power boating since she was 5. Our best experiences have been overnighting on our small cruiser while swinging on the hook with a million stars in the sky and no civilization around for miles.

My wife and I would love to buy a "passage making" boat (power or sail) and go cruising someday but my wife insists we need to wait until our daughter is through college. She feels the lifestyle would be unfair to our daughter since she is an only child and would have no other children onboard to share the experience with.

My wife's also concerned about stability, socialization and academics. She's concerned our daughter will miss out on experiences at school and get lonely without friends her own age. We've both read several books and articles about cruising with kids but most families seem to be doing it with 2 or more children. Any input you can share from your perspective would be most appreciated.

Bob